Ireland is famous for its pubs and there is a great range of places to visit. Some brewers and distilleries have been around for centuries; Guinness Brewery and the Jameson Experience in Dublin are among the best known. Many small artisan breweries and distilleries have opened up in the past 10 years. We have divided this list into sections based on the 4 provinces of Ireland – Munster, Leinster, Connaught and Ulster. 

This is not an exhaustive list but one to advise the weary traveller on the best pubs and towns. Please contact us if you have other suggestions.

Best Pubs in Munster   – Part 1 Best Pubs of Ireland

Munster in the south of Ireland is famous for its distilleries and breweries. The Irish pub has changed and been exported around the world, but the real deal is still to be found in still in many towns and villages in Ireland. You’ll find a warm welcome, good food and great music. Some pubs have a literary history, others are just great craic. Cork has a long-brewing and distilling tradition stretching back centuries with the water supply from the River Lee and other rivers and whiskey were some of the main exports from the port of Cork.

At the bottom of this blog we have listed the Distilleries, Breweries, Micr-Breweries and Cider Producers of Munster. We have divided Munster into the Following areas, so skip to the area you plan to visit

• Best Pubs of Waterford, Tipperary and East Cork, Ireland.
• Best Pubs of Cork City, Ireland.
• Best Pubs of West Cork, Ireland.
• Best Pubs of the 3 Headlands, West Cork, Ireland.
• Best Pubs of Kerry, Ireland.
• Best Pubs of Limerick, Ireland.
• Best Pubs of Clare, Ireland.
• Drinks Producers of Munster, Ireland.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best Pubs of Waterford, Tipperary and East Cork, Ireland.

Name	Town	Details
McCarthys Pub	Fethard,Co Tipperary	This is a grocery store, pub, restaurant and undertakers. Not far from Rock of Cashel (Link) and as this is prime racehorse training country the town has an Equine Museum. (Link). In the small town of Fethard, famous for its medieval stone walls, with beautiful wood panelled walls. This pub offers food as well as drink.
T & H Doolan’s	Waterford	Oldest pub in Waterford dating to 1400’sThis old pub has history in and on its walls with a lounge built over 800 years ago.
Jack Meade’s Pub	Passage Cross,Check Point,Waterford	300 year old country pub of character with modern large beer garden in grounds. Down a lane’s 15 minutes drive from Waterford. Does food as well as drinks and music.
Wallis Pub	Main Street,Midleton,Co Cork	Pub of character with a wide range of spirits and beers. Lovely outdoor space at back of pub is great fun and this pub often has music on a stage at back of pub.
Jameson Distillery	Midleton,Co Cork	Don’t miss a tour of this the premium distillery in Ireland where all Jameson Whiskeys are distilled.
O’Mahony’s	Watergrashill,Co.Cork	Small Country pub with Great Food 15 minutes to Cork City. In a village off the M7 motorway is a pub with big garden, kids area and great food. Good range of drinks of course

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best Pubs of Cork City, Ireland.

Cork has  many great pubs with the few here being easy access to tourists

Name	Town	Details
Heineken Brewery	Cork City Brewery	Local drinks are Murphy’s and Beamish black stout. Take a glass of each and compare with the more bitter flavour of Guinness. Heineken bought the old Murphys Brewery, which is brewed onsite just north of the river Lee. No pub on site but make sure to taste this Cork stout and Beamish, both brewed in Cork
The Long Valley	Winthrop Street,Cork City	A Cork pub of tradition and character. The front snug used to be for the ladies who visited. This long narrow pub has a selection of local stouts and other drinks as well as filling sandwiches made to order during the day.
Cork Whiskey Tour	Cork City Tour	Guided Tour of Cork City pubs with selections of rare whiskeys. https://activitydays.ie/product/cork-city-whiskey-tour/
Sin é Pub	Coburg St, Cork	Traditional Music Pub nightly in Cork city or the Corner House next door have live music playing most nights. Just over the bridge from Patrick Street ( main street).
The Shelbourne Bar	McCurtain St,Cork City	The place in Cork for a wide range of Whiskey’s with a selection second to none in Cork city
Franciscan Well Brewery	North Mall,Cork	Micro-brewery in Cork city with range of beers and stout- Rebel Red and Franciscan Wiesse beer and Shandon Stout. Lovely wood-fired Pizza as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best Pubs of West Cork Pubs, Ireland. 

Name	Town	Details
Cronin’s Pub	Crosshaven,Co Cork	In the seaside and sailing village south of Cork city this pub oozes character. Camden Fort Meagher nearby is well worth a visit. Great pub with a red haired barman who runs the Red Head festival. Sample tasty bar food or dine in their Mad Fish Restaurant.
The Grey Hound Pub	Market Square, Kinsale,Co Cork	In the Gourmet Food Capital of Ireland, this old world pub has been serving drinks since 1695. Small rooms and great character where you can try the Stouts- Murphy’s, Beamish and Guinness.
Blacks Distillery	Brewery & Distillery,Kinsale,Co Cork	Blacks Beers, Gin and Whiskey made in Kinsale. Tours by arrangement with ActivityDays
De Barra’s	Pearse St, Clonakilty, West Cork	On the Main Street of one of Ireland’s prettiest towns with bright flower baskets outside. Lots of pubs have character, but this pub is famous for music. Craft beers, stouts, simple soup & sandwiches. You never know who will be playing live music in the back room, with people sitting on old school benches.
Clonakilty Distillery	Distillery, Clonakilty, Co Cork	Tours can be booked for individuals and groups – ActivityDays
Bushes Bar	Baltimore, Co Cork	At top of the Pier in the coastal village of Baltimore is a square of pubs and cafes. Sandwiches, a meal or a quick drink before taking the ferry to Sherkin Island and Cape Clear depart from the pier. Great atmosphere and vies from the outside seating.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best  Pubs in 3 Headlands, West Cork, Ireland.

Name	Town	Details
Levis Pub	Ballydehob,West Cork	A small pub on Main Street, an old-style shop and pub in one room. Live Music with a variety of live music bands playing, or records for you to play
O Sullivans Pub	Crookhaven,West Cork	Overlooking the sea near Mizen Head eats outside on a warm day with views of the boats in the bay. Best place in West Cork for an open crab, prawn or smoked salmon sandwich. Lovely pints and friendly owner, staff and family dog offer a warm welcome. Photo of the pub at top of this article.
Ma Murphy’s Pub	Bantry, Co Cork	Old Fashioned pub, which looks like a grocery store in front. A long narrow pub with music often playing in back room. Good selection of craft beers, some on tap as well as a selection of Cork distilled Whiskeys and Gins.
McCarthys Pub	The Square Castletownbere, West Cork.	This pub in the fishing village of Castletownbere on the Beara Peninsula was Irish Pub of the Year 2016. The bar is full of stories and music 6 days a week and was on cover the book of ‘McCarthys Bar’ by Pete McCarthys.
O Neill’s Bar	Allihies, Co Cork	Colourful pub at the end of the Beara with music, pub food and music with views of the Atlantic – visit for the music and the pints.

 

 

 

 

 

Best Pubs in Co Kerry, Ireland.

 

Name	Town	Details
Purple Heather	Kenmare, Co Kerry	Lovely pub with great food in Kenmare town which has many atmospheric pubs.
Celtic Whiskey Bar	New Street, Killarney Co Kerry	A pub, with a great range of whiskeys and a choice of Cocktails (whiskey of Course). Food served with the drinks
The Moorings	Portmagee, Co Kerry	The small village on the Skellig Ring, a great drive for cars. Boat trips around Skellig Rock depart from here. Visit the pub whew Luke Skywalker ( Mark Hammil) learned to pull a pint of Guinness (Picture)
Scariff Pub	Waterville, Co Kerry	Pub on side of the road on the famous Ring of Kerry. Busy lunchtime food trade, but very tasty. The view on a clear day of the Atlantic
Foxy John’s	Main St, Dingle, Co Kerry	Dingle town had 52 pubs at one stage, all owned by the women in the family while men went fishing. The number of pubs is reduced slightly but there are lots of pubs in Dingle, including this grocery and pub in one room.
Dick Mack’s	Green Street, Dingle, Co Kerry	The Craic is just great in this old brewpub. A traditional pub, with many rooms and snug with music (Picture)
Dingle Distillery	Dingle, Co Kerry	Award-winning producer of Whiskey and Gin on edge of Dingle town. Open all year round with tours 12 pm, 2 pm and much more in summer.
Keane’s Pub	William St, Listowel, Co Kerry	A Traditional Pub owned by the Keane Family. John B Keane was a playwright and storyteller. Pub of great character has theatre shows and great pints. (Picture)

Dongle Distillery Tours

Best Pubs in Limerick, Ireland.

Name	Town	Details
The Locke Bar	Georges Quay, Limerick	An award-winning gastro-pub on Limericks Quay. Outdoor seating overlooking the river Shannon.
W J South		This pub was used in the film Angela’s Ashes.
Glen Tavern	Glentworth Street, Limerick	This warm welcoming family pub off the main street of O’Connell Street in Limerick. Serves food from Breakfast to 10 pm at night.
Dolans Pub	Limerick City	Winner pub of the year 2018 with live traditional Music each night in Limerick Town. Take a look at the Gig List (https://www.dolans.ie/whats-on-limerick)
The Creamery	Bunratty, Co Clare	This old Style pub and food served all day beside Bunratty Castle.
Flanagan’s Bar	Main St, Lahinch, Co Clare	Take a walk on the seashore, play a round of golf on this award-wining course, go surfing and visit the Cliffs of Moher late in the day, when all the crowds are gone. A Country pub by the sea, with a great range of whiskey and a friendly atmosphere.
McDermot’s Pub,PubMcGanns Pub, Gus o Connors Pub	Doolan,Co Claire	Traditional Music Every night in Doolin, Co Claire has a justified reputation for the quality of the music played in its pubs each night- impossible to choose one pub..so have named 3.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best Pubs in Co Clare, Ireland.

Name	Town	Details
Vaughan’s Pub	Liscannor, Co Clare	On the route from Lahinch to Doolin great food especially ScallopDestination pub with 5-star seafood reputation & great seafood platters
Morrisey’s	Doonbeg Village	Country Pub with a Michelin Bib for food. Great food and drinks. Where the Trumps visited when went to Doonbeg. book (065) 905 5304
Walshes Pub	Cree, Co Clare	Old Irish pub, beside the church at a crossroads – great Irish Music. Sugan chairs, old fashioned pub with music sessions most nights.
McHug’s Bar	Parnell St, Ennis, Co Clare	Local Food ingredients beautifully served, especially Tapas. – can book 087 393 4545

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Drink Produce of Munster, Ireland

Whiskeys	Jameson Midleton Distillery Dingle Distillery	West Cork Distillery Skellig Six18 Distillery	West Cork Distillery Waterford Distillery
Gin	Berthas Revenge Gin	Blackwater Gin	Beara GIn
Other Spirits	Kinsale Meade	Longueville House Brandy	Blacks Whiskey & Gin
Stout	Murphy’s Stout, Cork	Beamish Stout, Cork
Microbreweries	Dungarvan Brewery, Franciscan Well Brewery, Cork 9White Deer, Western Herd Brewery	Blacks Brewery Rising Sun Brewery, Killarney Brewery Company Torc Brewing	JJ Craft Brewing Limerick Treaty City Brewery Limerick Killarney Brewery Company
Cider	Longuville House Ciders, Cork	Stonewall Cider, Cork	Longways Cider,Tipperary

Have we left out your favourite pub- let us know so we can add it to the list for visitors to Ireland on this link . We are working on similar lists for Connaught, Leinster, and Ulster.